Super Typhoon Mangkhut smashes through Philippines

Purple Romero

The Jakarta Post

Tuguegarao, Philippines /
Sat, September 15, 2018 / 01:31 pm

Rescue workers clear a road of debris and toppled electric posts caused by strong winds due to super Typhoon Mangkhut as they try to reach Baggao town in Cagayan province, north of Manila September 15, 2018. Super Typhoon Mangkhut slammed into the northern Philippines, with violent winds and torrential rains, as authorities warned millions in its path of potentially heavy destruction. (AFP/Ted Aljibe)

Super Typhoon Mangkhut -- the biggest storm of the year -- smashed through the Philippines on Saturday, and claimed its first death as a woman was swept out to sea off Taiwan.

Mangkhut tore through the northern part of Luzon island, where it made landfall in the pre-dawn darkness, ripping off roofs, felling trees and knocking out power.

The area is home to around 10 million people, many of whom live in flimsy wooden shelters.

As the powerful storm left the Southeast Asian archipelago and barrelled towards densely populated Hong Kong and southern China, search teams in the Philippines began surveying the provinces that suffered a direct hit.

"We believe there has been a lot of damage," said Social Welfare Secretary Virginia Orogo as thousands of evacuees took refuge in emergency shelters.

Mangkhut was packing sustained winds of 170 kilometres (105 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 260 km per hour as it left the Philippines.

An average of 20 typhoons and storms lash the Philippines each year, killing hundreds of people and leaving millions in near-perpetual poverty.

Thousands of people fled their homes in high-risk areas ahead of the storm's arrival because of major flooding and landslide risks.

In Taiwan, a woman was swept away by high waves caused by the typhoon, the government said.

Residents had started lashing down their roofs and gathering supplies days before the arrival of the storm.

"Among all the typhoons this year, this one (Mangkhut) is the strongest," Japan Meteorological Agency forecaster Hiroshi Ishihara told AFP on Friday.

"This is a violent typhoon. It has the strongest sustained wind (among the typhoons of this year)."